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Awakened
| favored classes = Warrior, Priest, Sorcerer, Ranger, Monk, Rogue, Gunslinger, Ninja, Alchemist }} Awakened are an interesting case of the undead, brought back to life not through necromancy, but through divine magic. Some hundreds of years ago, a magical spark caused a chain reaction in the very essence of the universe (some believe experimentation by the Kimerians was the root cause of this), allowing individuals with particularly strong wills to transcend death, and return to life in their old bodies. Because awakened are only born of individuals with strong inner strength, awakened adventurers are common - most of the time, they were also adventurers in life. It is also not uncommon to see awakened in positions of power, sometimes veiled in illusion magic if they live in a society where the dead aren't trusted. Physical Description All awakened are undead - most are the skeletal remains of a recently-deceased sentient humanoid. Appearance varies greatly among the awakened, since any race may become one - an awakened born from a garuda will be much more massive than one born from a heket, for example. Awakened with flesh are rare, and even when they do occur, their flesh usually rots away within a few months. Society There is no awakened society. The dead awaken all over the world, at seemingly random times and places - there is no concentration of awakened in one place. Additionally, there is no real solidarity within the awakened. Most tend to identify with their previous race more than with other undead. However, awakened can usually be counted on to stick together when times are rough, mainly out of necessity - even after hundreds of years, they are not fully understood or trusted by the other races. Relations Most other races do not trust or understand the awakened - many fear them, believing them to be regular undead, and many find them distasteful. They are welcome in some societies, however, such as the Alabaster Fleet, causing a small minority of awakened to completely abandon their former homes and seek out others of their kind. The emikul are a special case. Most emikul believe the awakened to be agents of Abbadon, and methodically cremate their dead on land in order to prevent the dead from rising. Because of this, emikul awakened are extremely rare, and are universally shunned by emikul society. Alignment and Religion Most Awakened are shunned by society, and adopt a chaotic alignment, though this is by no means universal. Awakened tend to retain at least one aspect of their alignment from their earlier life - so an awakened born from a dead paladin would usually be either lawful or good (maybe both). Seeing as there is no 'awakened civilization,' there is no common culture among all awakened, causing religion to be just as varied as the awakened themselves. Ethnic Groups Awakened do not have 'ethnic groups,' per se - they divide themselves more along the lines of what race they were in life. Category:Races